FIRST DAY IN THE FOREST. 



23 



At last it occurred to me to try to shoot them down 

 by firing charges of shot at the juncture of the leaf 

 with the nest. At first I was, unsuccessful, for the 

 material of which the nest was composed was carried 

 up and woven 

 around the leaf 

 for quite a dis- 

 tance, and it was 

 next to impos- 

 sible to cut it 

 away. But af- 

 ter firing several 

 shots I had the 

 satisfaction of 

 seeing one of 

 the nests twirl 

 around in the air, 

 and then come 

 swirling down 



to the ground. It was so elastic in 

 texture that I found the three eggs 

 within unharmed by the fall, reposing 

 on a bed of dried leaves and grass. 

 They were of a pale clay color, marked 

 with characters like those on the egg 

 of our northern grackle. 



As to the nest itself, when 1 had 

 examined it closely I found it to be made of long 

 grasses, intermixed with fibrous strips of palm leaf, 

 and as closely woven as if the work of human hands. 

 It resembled the nest of our Baltimore oriole, but 



